Gear for operating bulkhead-doors and the like



H. -H. BENTLEY.

GEAR FOR OPERATING BULKHEAD DOORS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED rEB.4. 1920.

1,361,221. Patented Dec. 7,1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

l H. H. BENTLEY. GEAR FOR OPERATING BULKHEAD DOORS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 4, 1920.

' 1,361,221. Patented Dec. 7, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- cuit.

UNITED STATES PATIENT OFFICE.

HORATIO HALIBURTON BENTLEY, OF BELFAST, IRELAND, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF ANDHARLAND AND WOLFF, LIMITED, OF BELFAST, IRELAND.

GEAR FOR OPERATING BULKHEAD-DOORS AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. '7, 1920.

Application filed February 4, 1920. Serial No. 356,229.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HORATIO HALIBURTON BENTLEY, a subject of the King ofGreat Britain residing at Shipbuilding and Engineering Works, Belfast,Ireland, have invented new and useful Improvements in Gear for OperatingBulkhead-Doors and the like, of which the following is a specification.I

This invention relates to gear for operating bulk head doors and likedoors.

Each door is operated by an electric motor driving bymeans of reducinggear and a worm and worm wheel a shaft upon which is a pinion meshingwith a rack on the door, and the current to the electric motors iscontrolled from a central station.

The door operating mechanism when the door is closed or in the case ofvertical doors after being relieved of the weight of the door bywedge-like clips at the base of the door frame or when the door meets anobstruction (for example, coal) compresses a spring whose pressure tendsto press the door into the clips or the obstruction.

According to this invention the shaft on which is the worm actuating thedoor is surrounded by a helical spring arranged between a plumber blockand a projection on the shaft and compressed between them when thethrust of the shaft is in one direction, while the secondprojection onthe shaft bears against the plumber block when the thrust is in theother direction. \Vhen the spring has been sufficiently compressed aswitch is operated opening the motor cir- This may be effected by an armon a sleeve which is actuated by the first projection. Another switch isprovided for opening the motor circuit when the door is fully opened.

In the case of vertical doors the thrust is always downward except whenthe door is being forced into clips and in the case of horizontal doorsthe thrust is always in one direction for opening and in the oppositedirection for closing.

Two sets of hand gear for operating a door may be provided, one adjacentto the door and the other at a distance, the latter being coupled to thedoor mechanism by a clutch which is preferably actuated by a solenoid sothat the hand gear may be uncoupled when the door is operated electrically.

The annexed drawings show gear for operating bulk head doors made inaccordance with this invention.

Figure 1 is a front elevation and Fig. 2 a side elevation of a door.Fig. 3 is a section to a larger scale of the helical spring on the shaftof the worm actuating the door.

10 is a door sliding in the frame 11 in the bulk head and on the door1.0 is a rack 101 meshing with a pinion 121 on the shaft 12 turning inbearings 122 and having near one end a worm wheel 123. The worm wheel123 is in gear with a worm 131 on a shaft 13 driven through reducinggear 132 by an electric motor 133.

On the shaft 13 is a shoulder 134 which when the thrust on the shaft isdownward presses the ring 1341 of a ball bearing 1342 against theplumber block 14;. On the shaft also is a collar 135 which when thethrust is upward presses upward the sleeve 15 through a bush 1351 and aball bearing 1352, a helical spring 16 being compressed between thescrew ring 151 on the sleeve 15 and the plumber block 14.

When the motor 133 starts to close the door 10 the weight of the doorcauses a downward thrust of the shaft 13 which is taken by the shoulder134 upon the plumber block 14;. hen the door enters clips (not shown) atthe bottom of the frame or meets with any obstruction the thrust of theshaft 13 is upward and causes the spring 16 to be compressed between thescrew ring 151 and the lower surface of the plumber block 14:. An arm152 on the sleeve 15 operates a switch 17 when the spring 16 has beensufiiciently compressed and this switch 17 opens the circuit of themotor switch relay coil and the movement of the door is thereby stopped.the door being held in the closed position by the action of the spring16.

Similarly on the door 10 is a projection 102 which comes into contactwith a switch 18 controlling a relay coil which opens the circuit of themotor 133 when the door is compress the spring against a fixed supportwhen the thrust is in the other direction and means for driving theshaft. 7

2. A door combined with a shaft, a worm on the shaft, gearing betweenthe worm and the door, a plumber block, a shoulder on the shaft adaptedto engage the plumber block when the thrust on the shaft is in onedirec- I tion,a helical spring, a collar on the shaft adapted tocompress the spring against the plumber block when the thrust is in theother direction and means for driving the shaft. I

8. A door combined with a shaft, gearing between'the shaft and the door,a fixed support, a projection on the shaft adapted to engage the fixedsupport when the thrust on theshaft is in one direction, a helicalspring,

. a sleeve on the shaft, a. screw nut on the sleeve bearing against thehelical spring, a second pro ection on the shaft adapted to engage thesleeve and compress the spring against a fixed support when the thrustis in theother direction and means for driving the shaft. 7

4. A door combined with a shaft, gearing between the shaft and the door,a fixed support, a projection on the shaft adapted to engage the fixedsupport when the thrust on the shaft is in one direction, a helicalspring, a second projection on the shaft adapted to compres the springagainst a fixed "support when the thrust is in the other direction,means for operating an electric switch actuated by the secondprojectionand means for driving the shaft.

' 5. A door combined with a shaft, gearing 7 between the shaft and thedoor, a fixed support, a projection on the shaft adapted to engaged thefixed support when the thrust on "the shaft is in one direction, ahelical spring,

HOR'ATIO HALIBURTON BENTLEY.

